When the GOP nominated John McCain in 2008, it was the first time the GOP wing of the elitist faction set the stage for a presidential election that was plainly a choice of evils from a conservative point of view. I refused to go along with the so-called conservatives who agreed to overlook McCain's leftward makeover in just about every policy area except national security. I particularly objected to deceiving grassroots people curious about my views, by touting McCain as "pro-life" when the facts convinced me that he had shed his pro-life skin as part of his makeover in pursuit of the presidency. At the time, I explained at some length why I thought the "lesser of evils" approach to voting violated the requirements of good conscience, jettisoned the principles of constitutional government, and set conservatism on the path to extinction.

I also expressed the view that once they learned what a radical socialist ideologue Obama was, the American people would be hit with an urgent need to vomit him up like a bad meal. And despite the fact that Mitt Romney actually offers no clear alternative to the socialist path Obama wants to kick us down, there's still a good chance that on Nov. 6 the people will finish what they started in 2010. The body politic will empty its stomach, warily accepting the fact that the GOP offers the only readily available facility for doing so.

For months now, I've risked the assaults and silly slanders of outraged GOP partisans by trying, in every way I can, to make it clear that this year's presidential election is a set-up. The Obama/Romney alternative is a choice between the frying pan and the fire. Because we've been rapidly shriveling on the fire since 2008, I have no trouble understanding that the more even-tempered frying pan looks good. But I also have no trouble keeping in mind that either way, our goose is cooked.

I think that the elitists responsible for putting us in this Catch-22 situation probably prefer Romney to Obama. With Chef Romney, it will take a little longer to serve dinner, but the meal won't leave such a burnt and bitter aftertaste in their mouths. That's small comfort for the people being roasted alive, however. Of course, some of them may take a little pride in the prospect of being a more tasty meal. But, now that I think of it, aren't people such as that likely to prefer Chef Obama?

In this respect, the upcoming election is a classic example of that old definition of democracy: two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. In this case, though, one wolf is in a handsome sheep's outfit, politely mimicking his opponent's conviction that the sheep will surely be slaughtered if they vote with the other guy. In this respect, at least, sheepish voters can rest assured that both parties speak the truth.

Perhaps the saddest aspect of this election is one not quite covered by that old analogy. It's the scenario in which the sheep are already in the slaughter pens, and the vote is to decide who among them gets eaten first. Are we there yet, do you think? Are people so estranged from anything like the mentality of a free people that they are content to be whipped into a partisan frenzy over which chef thinks they won't be table ready until they've been fattened up a little, more or less?

If we take no account of the moral and spiritual dimension of human life, this matter of timing might be the right standard for government work. But most of us, for as long as we live, share a common sense that we are worth more than the organic matter of which we are composed. We are inspired by the examples, past and present, of people who measured their worth by a standard that looks to the quality of our actions, and the corresponding qualities of heart and spirit that cannot be seen or measured, in and of themselves, except by a sense that is, like them, unseen until it shows itself in acts that speak of justice, truth, and the love of God that attaches us to both.

Though the self-serving "pragmatists" who seek to replace them want us to forget it, America's founders acted on a vision of our humanity derived from this common sense of our moral/spiritual vocation. It is what led Madison to see justice (not "problem solving") as the indispensable end or aim of government. It is what led Jefferson to tremble at the implications of slavery when he remembered that God is just and that his justice will not sleep forever. It is what led Lincoln to understand that few can brave the suffering and death war necessarily involves except they are imbued with courage, inspired by the sense of God-endowed right. This is the sense that makes the length or brevity of life less the measure of its worth than the quality of right (as God gives us to see the right) we show to be essential to our humanity by the way we choose to live it.

With the success of Mitt Romney, the GOP's elitists mean openly to confirm and consolidate the Party's abandonment of the Declaration heritage that Lincoln's statesmanship established as the unequivocal basis of our identity as a free people. In the 2012 election, Americans are making a historic choice, but many are making it unbeknownst to themselves. It is emphatically not the choice between Romney and Obama. It's the choice quietly to accept the elitists' redefinition of politics, which decisively abandons the basis in principle for constitutional self-government; or to consider instead voting in the only way that still offers an effective chance to affirm, at least in principle, that we are a people determined never to surrender our liberty. If you have not yet considered the Platform Republican approach to the 2012 election, there's still time, though it is running out. Why not take a look?

Alan Keyes

Dr. Keyes holds the distinction of being the only person ever to run against Barack Obama in a truly contested election — one featuring authentic Declaration-based moral conservatism vs. progressive liberalism — when they challenged each other for the open U.S. Senate seat from Illinois in 2004... (more)

Dr. Keyes holds the distinction of being the only person ever to run against Barack Obama in a truly contested election — one featuring authentic Declaration-based moral conservatism vs. progressive liberalism — when they challenged each other for the open U.S. Senate seat from Illinois in 2004.

During the Reagan years, Keyes was the highest-ranking black appointee in the Reagan Administration, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations and as Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

He ran for president in 1996, 2000, and 2008, and was a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Maryland in 1988 and 1992, in addition to his 2004 candidacy in Illinois.

He holds a Ph.D. in government from Harvard and wrote his dissertation on constitutional theory.

His basic philosophy can best be described as "Declarationism" — since he relies on the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence to define the premises on which our country was founded, and to which it must return if it is to survive. To Dr. Keyes, the Constitution itself cannot be faithfully interpreted, understood, or applied apart from the divinely-premised principles of the Declaration.

When Keyes ran for president in 2000, the media generally considered him the winner of the Republican primary debates, due to the persuasive eloquence of his defense of the unborn, opposition to unfair taxation, advocacy of school choice, promotion of family values, and focus on what he called "America's moral crisis." As a result, he became the host of MSNBC-TV's "Alan Keyes Is Making Sense" in 2002.

He is best known for thrusting the evil of abortion — which he considers our nation's "greatest moral challenge" — into the national spotlight.

Keyes is also a strong supporter of Israel, and in 2002 he was flown by the Israeli government to the Holy Land to receive an award for his staunch defense of Israel in the media. He is the only American ever to receive such an honor from the State of Israel.

When Keyes ran against Obama for the Senate in 2004, he did so because he was incensed the Democrat "community organizer" refused to support the Born Alive Infant Protection Act in Illinois on several occasions — a measure approved not long afterward by the U.S. Senate, 100 to 0.

Alan is available to address interested venues of students, educators, civic groups, professional organizations, public servants, political advocates, churches, and others who are interested in preserving our nation's institutions of liberty.

To arrange a speech or special appearance by Dr. Keyes, contact his scheduler, Carla Michele, at 469-301-0776.